by Lufthansa Flyer | May 31, 2017 | Cuba, Featured, Havana, Travel |
‘Ban’ seems to be a very popular word lately…….
It appears that in the coming weeks, certain policies will be reversed that had allowed Americans to travel to Cuba.
The US State Department is reviewing the depth of the changes and the timing of enacting them. The biggest impact as far as I’m concerned will be the return of the travel ban that kept Americans from traveling to Cuba. Even though the current policy requires us to align with one of 12 reasons for traveling to Cuba, it is fairly easy to qualify for permission. That is about to change if the old rules are put back in place.
According to Washington, it appears that the reconsideration of our policies towards Cuba stem from Cuba’s lack of progress on human rights and the fact that a ‘Castro’ is still in power.
So if you have dreams of sipping Havana Club’s 15 year old Rum while drawing on a Cohiba as you watch the wonderful classic cars of the 50’s parade around Havana, you better get there, and fast!
Based on what I read, it appears that it will be only a matter of weeks before changes will take place.
Related: First American all-female general aviation ‘crew’ flies to Havana.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 18, 2017 | Airports, Brussels, FAA, Featured, Travel, TSA |
After a series of meetings in Brussels, involving heads of national security for the EU and USA, as well as airline security specialists it appears that an Electronics ban on flights between Europe and the USA may not be as imminent as we had feared.
In comments made by the group, it appears that there is an increased willingness for airlines to work with one another as well as will government security specialists in order to prevent the ban.
This information sharing included confidential exchange of intelligence between the EU and the Department of Homeland Security in the USA.
Critics of the ban suggest that a ban would cost passengers $1 billion in lost productivity each year and lead to a significant drop in air traffic between Europe and the USA.
According to one meeting participant, it was suggested that the electronics ban was ‘off the table’ at this point and no plans exist for implementing one in the near term.
This same group is scheduled to meeting in Washington DC next week to expand on their discussions. We can only hope that they realize how frivolous such a ban would be and continue to avoid its implementation.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 2, 2017 | Europe, Featured, Passenger Experience, Terror Alert, Travel |
Citing recent terrorist attacks in France, the UK, Sweden, and Russia, the US State Department today issued an alert asking Americans traveling to Europe to take extra precautions and increase their vigilance during their travels. The alert is to remain in place until September 1, 2017.
The alert itself cited no specific threat, but simply asks that Americans do their due diligence when traveling in countries that may carry extra risks to visitors.
The text, exactly as released by the State Department on May 1, 2017:
